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Goose hunting at Billerica office park has feathers flying (VIDEO)

By Rick Sobey, rsobey@lowellsun.com

Updated:
10/27/2013 08:16:08 AM EDT

BILLERICA -- For 15 years, the property owners have tried several techniques to get rid of the 90 geese that overpopulate the pond and cover the area with feces. They've tried inflatable alligators to scare away the geese and dogs to chase them off the office-park property, but those solutions and others have failed.

As a result, the Billerica property owners turned to a lethal solution Oct. 19: They hired professionals to hunt the geese on the private property's pond at 76 Treble Cove Road, which is adjacent to businesses and across from homes.

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In response, some residents are up in arms about the open-space shooting and remain concerned about the neighborhood's safety, while others are upset that "defenseless creatures" were killed in a "slaughter." However, according to the Billerica Police Department, everything was done legally and residents should feel safe.

"It was conducted within the law in a responsible manner," said Deputy Chief Roy Frost, who added that geese-hunting season runs through November. "Nobody is in danger, the public ways are not in the line of fire, the hunters are experienced.

"Some residents contacted us about it, but we assured them that everything was done according to the law and there's nothing to worry about," Frost added.

But some residents would argue otherwise. Andy Auyeung, of 119 Parlmont Park, said he heads to Treble Cove Plaza almost daily and is in shock that gunshots would be allowed on the adjacent property. There's a Market Basket, restaurants and a KinderCare nearby, in addition to houses, and Auyeung said it's not reasonable for hunting to happen so close to residents.

"It just makes no sense," he said. "I just bought a piece of property here, and I want this town to be a good place to live, a safe place. It's not an enclosed area, and it's just confusing for people to see these hunters with gunshots in a wide-open space.

"I don't want children to hear gunshots. I don't want children seeing that," Auyeung added. "It seems like they don't care about the residents and businesses nearby."

Town Meeting Representative Chris Musker was also upset over the moral aspect of the shooting. She called the incident a "massacre" and an "outright slaughter of defenseless creatures."

"They simply come peacefully to graze and drink from the pond," Musker said. "Hunting is hunting, but to shoot at sitting geese is slaughter. It's absolutely wrong and should never be allowed again."

Despite the complaints, Frost emphasized that the property owner, James Alibrandi, did everything by the book and no town bylaw prohibits it. Alibrandi had the hunters do the shooting on a Saturday morning when the businesses were unoccupied, and the hunters obeyed the shooting setback restrictions, which state the hunter must be at least 500 feet from dwellings and 150 feet from public ways, according to Frost.

The Police Department also tried to notify as many residents as possible through Nextdoor, the neighborhood social-media website.

The following is some of the Nextdoor posting: "The hunting may be done with a shotgun, no greater than 10 gauge, with a maximum capacity of 3 shells per weapon. The hunter must have a valid FID/LTC with a hunting license and state-issued 'stamps' for the waterfowl. As for concerns that the property owners have not engaged in any other manner of land management other than hunting, I will only comment that they have demonstrated to this department that they have taken numerous measures over the past 15 years to mitigate the returning waterfowl without success."

Paul Feuerstein, a dentist with an office next to the pond, confirmed that Alibrandi has attempted to scare away the geese over the years with plastic alligators and patrol dogs. Feuerstein said the property owner never did anything to harm the geese, so he was very surprised to learn of last week's shooting.

"He never talked about harming the wildlife, so that's a shock," Feuerstein said. "I don't like the geese being everywhere and all their waste, but I don't condone the shooting."

Selectman George Simolaris added that there should be another way to get rid of the geese "than by using violence." He said the property owner should work together with the town to come to a solution.

However, according to selectmen Chairman Dave Gagliardi, there's nothing the Board of Selectmen can do because it's a legal shooting. And the Police Department won't be stopping any future hunts.

"Again, this department understands and appreciates that many residents will have differing views on the ethical and philosophical implications of hunting," according to the Nextdoor posting. "However, notwithstanding this understanding, we are not a regulatory agency as it pertains to this matter, we are merely the local enforcement agency tasked with ensuring that all state and local laws are being followed.

"To that end, which includes consulting with the Massachusetts Environmental Police, we believe all activities that have been taken at 76 Treble Cove Road, as it pertains to goose hunting, have been done according to the law."

Linda Huebner, deputy director of advocacy at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), said she's received calls from Billerica residents about the shooting. While Huebner has never visited the site, she has learned that the pond and surrounding grass is an invitation for geese, a "perfect goose habitat."

Huebner said it's relatively easy to make the area less attractive for geese by having tall grass at the edge of the pond, rocks that they don't like to walk across and balloons to scare them off.

"The problem can be solved non-lethally, and we hope they follow these approaches and don't invite hunters in the future," Huebner said.

Alibrandi, president of Interstate Electrical Services, could not be reached for comment.

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